with a little faith

When I read this story in my email this morning... I was so touched by Faith's strength and will that I had to post it on my blog for all to read. And yes, Faith is a dog, but he probably demonstrated the phrase "When there is a will, there is a way" better than anyone of us.

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Faith was born on Christmas eve in 2002 with only 3 legs - 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which had to be amputated. Being a puppy still, of course, he could not walk when he was just borned. Even his mother did not want him.



His first owner also did not think that he could survive and even thought of putting him to sleep. But his present owner, Jude Stringfellow met him and wanted to take care of him. She is determined to teach and train this dog to walk by himself. Therefore, she named him "Faith".

In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfing board to let him feel the movements. Later, she used peanut butter on a spoon to lure and reward him to stand up and jump around. Even the other dog at home also helped to encourage him to walk.

Miraculously, Faith learned to balance on his 2 hind legs only after 6 months and he even jumped to move forward. After further training in the snow, he now can walk like a human being!

Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes, he just attracts all the people around him. He is not becoming famous on the international scene and has even appeared on various newpapers and TV shows. There is even one book entitled "With a little faith" being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of the Harry Potter movies. His present owner, Jude Stringfellow has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.